Injury-riddled Tide falls to OU 66-61...

    Alabama's Herb Jones gave it his best effort. That's all he could do. He was limping. I'm sure he talked Nate Oats into letting him play.  He's a warrior. It was injuries that ultimately beat the Tide; Bruner couldn't play and will be out for a while longer. Rojas was not anywhere full speed. The TV announcers seemed to have had injury amnesia in failing to mention the Tide's health. That's what it was. Injuries were the difference, but the turnovers and lack of rebounding were the daggers that finally killed the Tide.  

      Some coaches have figured out a way to beat Alabama when their big men are injured.  That's all. The offense is solid, and there is no need for a major rehaul. What Alabama needs is time to mend, starting with Herb Jones. We'll continue to win close games when Herb is well. As long as Herb is limping, Alabama will have trouble. When Jordan Bruner returns, the Tide will be a great offense again. That's not to say that Alex Reese didn't play well. Alabama got a great game from Alex Reese. He had 15 points. He crashed the boards, but he's not a long-winged warrior.  He isn't a sky-king either. What Bama missed most was Herb Jones. When Jones has a bad game, Petty and Prime aren't as effective. Today was a classic example.

    All of that being said, Alabama played a horrible game. We weren't ready to play.  That was Nate Oat's take on the game. That would be pretty much anyone's take on the game. Bama had far too many turnovers, missed too many point-blank shots, and failed to run the offense. All of those things contributed to the loss. All that, and still the chance to win, was there in the last two minutes. That says a lot about Alabama defense. You just can't continue to give up second-chance baskets and win. Oats committed five players to the boards to stop the bleeding. That meant slowing down the offense, however.

    It's possible Alabama could have overcome all of this had they made a few more shots or gotten a few more rebounds. "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride," as the old saying goes. There will be better days. Alabama tees it up with LSU next. The Tigers lost a double-figure scorer today. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Jones recovers. Let's hope that Rojas and Quineraly get well. Oh yeah, let's throw in our best wishes for Jordan Bruner.  

     If you are an Alabama basketball fan, the worse part of a loss is the boo-bird posters. They have hit the posting boards already. Familiarize yourself with that handy ignore button.

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